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Pegasus
Pegasus'' ''is a missile boat that first appears in Wargame: Red Dragon. It is the only dedicated missile boat available to BLUFOR. History Pegasus-class hydrofoils were series of fast attack patrol boats employed by the U.S. Navy. Orginally designed around a NATO requirment in the 1960s for a response to the Soviet Komar and Osa class missile boats. The hydrofoil approach was deemed the best way to meet the requirment. The Chief Of Navy Operations, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, wanted to incease the Navy ship numbers in a cost efficient matter, and became the chief proponent of the class. The Italian Marina Militare and the German Bundesmarine had signed letters of Intent to particpate in this program and allied navies, including Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy also expressed interest. With the retirment of Admiral Elmo Zumwalt production of the Pegasus-class was delayed to funnel resocurces to bigger ships. Beyond Zumwalt, traditionalists in the Navy provided little support for the class, preferring for resources to be spent on larger warships. Frustrated, foreign partners left the program. Congress eventually forced the completion of the initial six vessel order - Pegasus, Hercules, Taurus, Aquila, Aries and Gemini. Since the lead ship Pegasus was finished several years before the rest of the series, it differs in several minor ways from the rest of the class, including a different fire-control system. These ships were well armed for their size; no heavier than the earlier Asheville-class gunboat, they were equippped with two four-rack RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles and an Oto Melara 76 mm gun. The intended theatre of operations were the Mediterranean Sea, but all six ships were assigned Missile Hydrofoil Squadron TWO, home ported in the Caribbean. These ships were deemed effective in coastal operations such as narcotics interdiction and coastal patrol, but the Navy, never being entirely sold on the concept of a missile boat, elected to decommission the class after little more than a decade of service. Overview Despite this vessel's seemingly impressive speed and missile loadout, it remains one of the least deployed warships in the game. The twin mounted Harpoon launchers allow for two-missile salvos at very long range, albeit with altogether sub-par accuracy, while the 76mm gun also provides a modest gun armament. The fatal flaw of the Pegasus class, unfortunately, is its total lack of ECM and CIWS defenses, coupled with a lack of anti-aircraft weaponry. As a result, the Pegasus is hopelessly vulnerable to anti-ship missile fire, and will likely be blown out of the water by the first such missile thrown in its direction. While the vessel could hypothetically evade enemy ships with its high speed – although doing so is difficult on confined maps – it's lack of air defenses renders it helpless before even the most basic of REDFOR anti-ship aircraft. As the 100 point cost is somewhat excessive for such a vulnerable ship, most experienced players choose to skip the Pegasus in deck creation. Appropriately managed, these vessel are still modestly useful when provided in the single-player campaigns, as the computer is often not skillful enough to take prompt advantage of their flaws. Weapons See also * Category:Red Dragon naval support